The end of the season is never easy to take, but when the end comes for a season that had so much promise, it can be harder to take than normal.
The University of the Incarnate Word women's basketball team lost in the Heartland Conference Tournament Championship game to St. Mary's University, 61-46, costing the Cardinals a ticket to the NCAA Division II Regional Tournament and preventing UIW from becoming Heartland Conference Champions two years in a row.
UIW fell behind early and trailed by as many as 16 points in the second half. At halftime, the score was 26-17.
“I thought the girls fought really hard today on both ends of the floor,” head coach Angela Lawson said after the game. “St. Mary's was the better team out there today. They took us out of what we wanted to do, offensively, and we didn't do that (to them). I've said all along that St. Mary's is the best team at man-to-man defense in the conference and they showed that today.”
The Cardinals had double-digit performances from senior Hayley Harvey and Cinnamon Kava, with Harvey scoring 10 and getting five rebounds. Kava, also a senior, came off the bench for UIW and scored 13 points in the second half, spearheading a surge by UIW that closed the gap to just five points, 37-32, at 12:49.
But, the comeback fell short and ultimately St. Mary's was the team celebrating on the court after the final horn sounded.
“A season is not about one game,” Lawson said. “It's about what happens over the course of a year and I think we had a great run. I know this won't get us to the NCAA tournament, but we did finish with the best conference record that we've ever had and we got back to the championship game, which was one of our goals. Yeah, we fell short or accomplishing all of our goals, but in terms of the players fighting and having intensity, they gave what they had to give today. St. Mary's was just better.”
Incarnate Word graduates six seniors off their roster – Kava, Harvey, Jasmine Smith, Nikki Brown, LaShae Woodard and Nia Torru.
Torru graduates as the leading scorer in Incarnate Word history with 1,778 points. She also finishes her career as the all-time leading scorer in Heartland Conference history. In her last year, she led the team in scoring with a 14.6 points-per-game average.
“Nia has had a phenomenal career,” Lawson said. “I just walked into recruiting her one day. I was at a playoff game recruiting Cinnamon Kava and decided to stay and watch the next game and saw her play. I turned to my assistant and I said 'Let's find out if anyone is recruiting her' and we almost didn't get her because she had been given an offer from a Division I school. But I convinced her to come for a visit and now look what she has accomplished.”
Harvey finished the year as the third-leading scorer with a 10.8 points-per-game average and the third-leading rebounder with a 5.3 per-game average.
“She is one of the players that were with me all four years,” Lawson said, “and it has been fun to watch her, and the rest of them, grow and become coachable and become the players they became. That's the fun of being a coach – helping a player reach their potential.”
Kava, who missed a portion of the start of the season with an injury, finished her final year for UIW as the second-leading scorer with an 11.0 per-game average.
“She did a great job off the bench for us (today), getting things going and giving us an opportunity to get back into the game. You has had a great four years here and I think some of her struggles, not playing up to her own expectations, but she had that injury early on and I think it did affect her – but I'm really proud of her.”
Brown had a 6.9 points per-game average on the score sheet and was good for a block per game. Woodard came off the bench for the majority of the season and was a change-of-pace player for Lawson's team, averaging five points and 3.7 rebounds per game in the senior season of a career that was hampered by injuries.
“I told LaShae that I wish I'd had the chance to coach her for four years. She's battled through a lot of injuries since her first year in college and to watch her fight through that was amazing… Nikki has been good, especially as of late. Sometimes I don't think she ever realized how good she could be. She accepted her role and did whatever was asked of her.”
Finally, Smith spent the majority of her senior season ranked nationally in Division II with an 84.9% free-throw percentage. She was also the team's leading rebounder (6.9 per game) and fourth leading scorer (9.6 points per game).
“My best word to describe her is relentless. She's that way in her work ethic and defense and intensity. It's has been a pleasure coaching someone like her.”
But now, UIW will have to look to its future as essentially an entire starting lineup will no longer be at Lawson's disposal.
“Frost has had a really successful freshman year for us, getting the majority of the minutes for next year's players for us,” Lawson said of her freshman point guard. “Brittany Jackson was a late addition to the team and I didn't know what I was getting with her. She is one of those kids with a whole lot of talent and just needs an offseason to take it to the next level – and she's already committed to that.
“We have players who we didn't get to see a lot of this season, so that's going to make this off-season a lot of fun to see how they develop over spring and summer.”
Torru and Smith were recognized after the tournament as members of the All-Tournament team. St, Mary's Kristen Williams was named the tournament's most valuable player.
2010 Heartland Conference Women's Basketball Tournament
All-Tournament Team
Jasmine Smith – Incarnate Word
Kelli Payton – St. Edward's University
Nia Torru – Incarnate Word
Mallory Miller – St. Mary's University
Tournament MVP
Kristen Williams – St. Mary's University
